AMB Reviews

Imagine That: 7/10 Stars

Release Date: June 12, 2009

Content Advisory: Rated PG for some mild language and brief questionable behavior. Two h-words. The main character sometimes acts rather outlandish and stupid to gain what he wants. He learns his lesson at the end, however.

Review:

"Imagine That" stars Eddie Murphy and newcomer darling, Yara Shahidi who, combined, have surprisingly great chemistry...

In Short:

Eddie Murphy, who has basically fallen off the face of the earth, starring in many box office bombs, comes back in "Imagine That." Though many won't see any progress in his work, I found him to be quite hysterical in this film. Looks like his comedy is back. He plays a busy worker who is so caught up in his work that he doesn't even have time for his own daughter. But when he realizes that his daughter's imaginary friends may be the only way to help him succeed at work, he slowly learns that maybe family should come first. It's a cute little tale that won't win any Oscars and won't receive any rave reviews. It's simple, pure, family friendly enjoyment.

In Full:

Eddie Murphy plays Evan Danielson, who's little girl, named Olivia, is forced to come live with him after a divorce. But Evan can barely keep up with the hectic schedule of his work, let alone spend time with his daughter. But soon enough, competition for a very important job position rolls around in the form of a disturbing hippy named Johnny Whitefeather. Turns out, Olivia's imaginary friends somehow know certain things about Evan's company... things that are critical to its success. When Evan realizes this, he uses the imaginary friends as the way to his success, learning, however, to spend more time with his daughter along the way. It's a curious tale... and one that was somewhat weird, but also left me feeling warm and satisfied at the end.

To me, Eddie Murphy's best work hasn't been since he voiced Mushu in Mulan back in the 90's. Murphy, however, proves that he still can be funny without being stupid in this film. Some of his lines made me burst out with laughter, while other scenes, my insides were warmed up as he played the busy father slowly growing closer to his precious daughter. That daughter is played by Yara Shahidi, who is quite captivating and convicing as the daughter. Shahidi and Murphy also provide great chemistry as father-daughter. Thomas Haden Church brings up the supporting cast as Johnny Whitefeather who, although was a very weird character, accomplished it perfectly.

This is a family friendly comedy, so don't expect too many grand visuals or special effects. The film basically consists of scenes ranging from hilarious to downright weird to very soft and tender. The scenery was nice, and though I don't know where they chose to film the movie, it fit the movie's genre perfectly, no matter where the characters were, it seemed that the background always related to the emotion portrayed at that moment. It wasn't anything mind blowing, but it kept my interest throughout.

This film wasn't perfect, however. Though I knew there were going to be some stupid moments in the film, I wasn't prepared for how many odd moments were going to be in the film. I would be watching a very tender scene that made me smile, when it would suddenly cut to a scene that didn't seem to fit at all and was rather just thrown in there to provoke laughter. Most of them didn't really make me laugh, they just made me wonder why the scene was included in the film. This didn't happen too often, but when it did, it let me down. You'll also find the movie somewhat predictable and unoriginal, as cute as it all is.

"Imagine That" is clean. It's fun and it's funny. It's enjoyable and quite interesting. It won't go down in history and it's not the best movie I've seen this Summer 09' movie season, but it's cute, charming and clean (that's alliteration for all you English lovers out there). Eddie Murhpy and Yara Shahidi turn in some great chemistry and witty dialogue, while Thomas Haden Church is perfect as the goofy, oddball "villain," I shall say. It will keep you laughing throughout, but will also have you smiling, not just because of the humor, but because of the several touching moments contained in this comical, yet heartwarming film.